


Celebration

by Crown_of_Winterthorne



Series: Roses AU [1]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Birthday, F/M, First Time, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Gundam Wing 21st Anniversary, Post-Series, Tattoos, mentioned past 1x2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 18:44:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6531616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crown_of_Winterthorne/pseuds/Crown_of_Winterthorne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On her 21st birthday, Relena is tired of her glass tower. Duo shakes things up and reminds her that she's so much more than a princess or politician. </p><p>A pair of song meme drabbles expanded for GW's 21st Anniversary. </p><p>Prologue to the Roses AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Celebration

**Author's Note:**

> [Bonus Playlist!](http://8tracks.com/winterthorne/celebration-a-roses-prologue)

Fuck being a princess. And fuck responsibility. Relena Peacecraft was 21 and she damn well deserved to have some fun!

Even Cinderella got to go to a ball, but this time, it was going to be on her terms.

"Ready, Princess?" Duo grinned as she snuck down the back stairs, avoiding the party and her fan club. She had outgrown them years ago, but they had never quite outgrown her. They were sweet girls, daughters of diplomats and royalty all, but Relena had nothing in common with them. Sometimes it seemed she never had.

"You bet!" she laughed as they ran from the estate to where Duo had stashed his motorcycle. "You're such a bad influence on me!"

"You love it," he retorted, kissing her cheek. "Happy Birthday, Lena."

"Thank you," she kissed him back, climbing onto the back of the motorcycle after hiking up her expensive dress—yet another ball gown in baby pink. She had outgrown pink when she was twelve, for goodness sake! Yet still they insisted on treating her as a little girl. Pink cars, pink dresses, pink cake filled with vanilla buttercream. It was all so boring.

Duo didn't treat her like a little girl. Had never treated her like a princess for that matter.

Duo mounted the bike in front of her, barely waiting for her arms to wrap around his waist before starting the engine and taking off. He wasn't going to give anyone the chance to stop them. It was almost disappointing that no one tried. She laughed, freely, holding him tight and never looking back.

Freedom.

That's what it was like with Duo. Hair flying straight back as they raced along the streets on his motorcycle, pressing close enough to smell the leather of his jacket.

He allowed her to be someone else. Not the Vice Minister. Not the Queen of the World.

Just Lena.

She leaned with Duo on the curves and turns, felt safe with him, even as he drove at breakneck speeds through the city. They should have been more careful, she knew. Should have driven slower, should have worn helmets. It certainly wouldn't do to have the Vice Foreign Minister crack her head like an egg if an accident occurred. But the thrill that came with riding behind Duo was worth it. It always had been worth it to follow his lead, even when she was terrified.

She still wasn't sure when "what would Heero do?" had been replaced with "what would Duo do?"

Before Heero broke Duo's heart, that was for certain.

At a stoplight, she put her chin on Duo's shoulder and her lips close to his ear so that he could hear her over the roar of the motorcycle. "Where are we going?"

"To get your birthday present," he grinned. "And dinner. Unless you consider those tiny plates of fancy ass cat food and hors d'oeuvres dinner?"

"I do not. And remind me to find a new party planner."

"You need better bodyguards is what you need," he patted her knee as the light turned green. "Good thing I'm around."

She thought that he was more serious than joking this time and he was probably right. She shouldn't have been able to ditch her security as easily as she did, even with Duo's help. Heero would have never allowed that. _Duo_ would have never allowed that.

* * *

If anyone thought it odd to see a young couple in black tie squished together in a ratty vinyl booth at a greasy diner no one said so. They certainly didn't say anything if they glimpsed the gun Duo wore beneath his tuxedo jacket and leather. Relena thought they might have been recognized more than once—her face was well known and Duo had never exactly been inconspicuous—but they were left alone. On the television, there was no news of her escape from her own birthday party, but Duo's phone rang several times and when he didn't answer it, a series of messages chimed.

"It's Wufei, isn't it?" she asked, stirring her soda with a straw.

Duo glanced at the screen. "And Une. Nice to know someone figured out you were gone."

"I'm sure my phone will be filled with messages from Noin and my brother." She hadn't brought it with her. Hadn't even bothered to grab a handbag when Duo caught her alone on the verandah.

"Let it be known that I'm only telling them where we are so that Zechs doesn't kill me," he tapped out a message on the screen then turned his phone off. "Your brother's gorgeous but he still scares the shit outta me. Noin scares me even more."

"Milliardo is a teddy bear," she patted his thigh. "Lu... not so much."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'll protect you."

"Aren't you supposed to be the damsel in need of rescuing?"

"I think you already did that," she smiled, gesturing to the diner. "It's my turn next."

"I'll hold you to that promise," he warned, looking up as the waitress brought their food. His eyes widened a little at the size of the burger placed in front of Relena. "You're actually going to eat all of that?"

She just smirked and picked up a fry. "Watch me."

* * *

Dinner was followed not by dancing but with a visit to a little brick building tucked along a winding street in the city center. Clubs, bars, and grills were open all around it, thronged with pretty people and tightly packed cars lined up and down the narrow cobblestone. Relena's ballgown drew less attention than Duo's motorcycle did when he parked on the sidewalk in front of the shop's plate glass window.

He climbed off first, offering a gentlemanly hand to Relena. "Your birthday present, Princess."

"Really?" she was smiling, amazed that he had remembered their conversation. Amazed that she was going to go through with it, but then, that was what their relationship was all about. Heero had made her brave as a girl. Duo made her brave as a woman.

"Really. C'mon." He kissed her hand and led her through the door of the tattoo shop.

He greeted the receptionist and two artists by name, shedding his leather, bow tie and the tuxedo jacket as he showed Relena to a station in the back corner. He rolled up his sleeves, baring the black and grey tattoos beneath: religious icons on his right arm, the Gundams on his left. He kept the gun in its shoulder holster and unbuttoned his collar. He grinned, wicked and delighted.

"Sit."

Relena sat, heart pounding and stomach fluttering. She had been debating back and forth for the better part of a year, telling herself that it wasn't appropriate for a princess, for a politician. Duo had assured her otherwise, pointing out that she could hide a well-placed tattoo with her conservative suits or cover it with makeup. When she had finally decided yes, Duo had promised to be the one to do it.

She hadn't expected it to be a birthday gift.

Sitting down in the rolling chair beside her, Duo opened up a sketchbook and showed her a page. The rose was delicate, its stem thorny and leaves gently curled. Tiny daisies and a filigree chain accented the larger bloom. It was feminine and realistic, only needing color to bring it to life. Not for the first time, Relena wished that Duo had been allowed to draw all along, rather than be forced into fighting, first for survival, then for the colonies and finally for Preventers. This unexpected talent of his was worth so much more than his skill with a knife or Gundam.

"What do you think?" he asked, taking her silence for hesitation, dislike. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him, closer to the corner of his mouth than on his cheek.

"Duo, it's beautiful. Exactly what I was thinking."

He beamed, expression shifting in a blink. "Okay. Okay, great! Did you still want it here?"

Duo traced a single fingertip over the swell of her left breast, just above the beaded bodice of her dress, taking liberties that she wouldn't have allowed with anyone else. That he wouldn't have tried with anyone else. The lines of personal boundaries had been blurred between them a long time ago. She nodded, meeting his glittering blue-violet eyes with the bright blue of her own.

"Let's do it."

* * *

It hurt both more and less than she expected. Duo was as gentle as he could be, talking to her throughout, working quickly and with confidence. Once the endorphins began to kick in, she found herself able to watch, fascinated with the way the needle bit into her skin, the expression of concentration on Duo's face, even the way the blood welled up. At some point, she'd even lost her self-consciousness over the way her friend was up close and personal with her modest chest. Her bodice was unzipped around her waist and the cup of her bra drawn a little to the side, covered thoughtfully with plastic wrap to avoid staining the white lace with blood or ink.

"What color?" Duo had asked finally, leaving the rose for last. It was the one thing she hadn't been certain of: red roses were for Treize, and she refused to wear them. White was for innocence. She had lost that long ago. Yellow for friendship and new beginnings—that had potential, but neither she nor Duo thought yellow would look good upon her skin. The centers of the little white daisies were yellow and would need contrast anyway. Blue and lavender were possibilities—her favorite colors— but neither felt quite right. That left pink.

Pink. Of course it would be.

"Dark pink," she said. "For grace. For happiness."

Duo looked at her, mouth quirked, eyebrow raised. He knew how she felt about pink. "You're sure?"

"For gratitude," she nodded. "For my friend who gave it to me."

He blushed, unable to hide it with his fair skin. "Lena..."

She reached out, stroking his hair back from his face. There were really no words to be had between them. Too many words. Not enough breath to say them. Duo caught her hand between shoulder and cheek, kissing her wrist.

"Pink it is," he said softly. "Happy Birthday, Relena."

* * *

The tattoo turned out beautifully. Relena could barely stop admiring it in the mirror long enough to let Duo finish cleaning and bandaging it. It took all of her willpower not to touch it, to trace her fingers over the fine filigree of the chain, the curves of the thorny stem. She was half-certain that the vivid rose was going to leap off of her skin at any moment.

Duo had to threaten to tie her hands behind her back.

"Promises, promises," she teased, giddy with endorphins and adrenaline. When Duo looked her up and down, arching a suggestive eyebrow, she blushed. She also smiled back, the idea not unappealing. It certainly wasn't the first time she'd thought about him that way, nor the first time they'd flirted with the idea.

"So you like it?" he asked, watching her expression in the mirror as he zipped her dress back up.

"Duo, I love it," she turned, hugging him tightly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Princess," he kept his hands on her waist as they drew apart. She rested hers on his chest. It was comfortable. Easy. "So... Go home or keep going?"

"I don't want to go home." She could barely call the estate home. It was big, and unless the party guests had all left, it would be empty too, filled only with servants and staff. A flat in the city would have suited her better, but the estate, as she was so often reminded, was safer.

Duo nodded. "Next question: how attached to that dress are you?"

"Not at all. Why?"

He grinned and produced a knife. She didn't bother to ask where he'd kept it; Duo was never without a blade or two. Giving her only a brief chance to protest, he hacked the billowing layers of tulle short, baring her long legs and the Swarovski-studded heels she wore. Her ballgown suddenly turned cocktail dress, Duo gave her a wink and grabbed his leather jacket.

"Let's go have fun."

* * *

It was always fun with Duo. He took her dancing, took her to quiet little bars where the drinks were cheap and the music deep, took her to after-hours events even most of the locals didn't know and the tourists couldn't imagine. Her stylist, PR people and assistants were going to scream, but getting rid of the voluminous skirts had been smart. Wearing the gown throughout the night would have been daunting. It still looked good, ragged and stylish with the glittering bodice and shoes. Better, even, when Duo gave her his jacket to keep warm.

He told her so, as they walked along the quiet alleyways towards his apartment, leaving behind an after-hours cabaret where they had both drunk a little too much and flirted shamelessly with each other.

"I should have let you cut it up earlier," she leaned against him, a little wobbly in her heels. Cobblestones, stilettos and drinking did not go together very well. "Like before my grand entrance at the party."

"Your entourage would have murdered me. Here, stop," he gestured for her to lean against the brick wall and dropped down to his knees.

Relena looked down the length of her body, watching with heavy-lidded eyes as Duo unfastened the straps of her shoes and pulled them off, one by one. He helped her balance with a hand on her hip, let her put her own hands on his shoulders.

She bit her lip, feeling like Cinderella in reverse, wondering what people would think to see her leaning against an alley wall with a beautiful man on his knees in front of her. The same man who had tattooed her, had zipped and unzipped her dress more than once tonight, who had practically stripped her with a knife. He met her gaze and something shifted behind his eyes, turning the violet dark, serious. The air itself shifted, became thicker.

Rising, Duo handed her the shoes. He looked dangerous, moving with all the grace of a feral cat, his gun against his white shirt, one tattooed arm coming up to frame her against the wall. She met his gaze without fear because she had never been afraid of Duo. He would never let her come to harm.

He slid his hand up from her hip,—slow and deliberate—to her waist, giving her a chance to push him away. He leaned in, licking his lips as she brought her arms up around his neck, shoes dangling from her fingers. He smirked, voice gone husky as he asked, "Yeah?"

Relena nodded. "Yes."

It wasn't their first kiss. Not even the third or fourth. But it had never been like this, the teasing replaced by this new heat between them. He tasted of whiskey and cherry cola, his tongue lazy against hers as she opened to him. Duo pressed her against the wall, cupping her breast through the glittery bodice and swallowing her sigh of pleasure. She arched up against him, wrapping one leg around his hip. Even through the remaining layers of her dress, she could feel him half-hard against her and it made her feel powerful, sexy.

Duo punctuated the kiss with a gentle nip to her bottom lip, half-smiling as he drew back. "It's still your night, Lena. Tell me what you want to do."

Relena drew her foot along his calf, lips playing at a smile as she brushed her fingers over his jaw, down to his throat to open another button on his shirt. "Take me back to your place?"

"Is that what you want?"

"I want you."

* * *

Duo's place was little more than a month-by-month room he rented a few blocks away from the tattoo shop. He traveled too much to bother with settling down permanently. He'd talked about it with Relena more often these days, thought about buying his own shop instead of living out of a suitcase.

A suitcase that was currently strewn all over the floor, shoved off of the bed in Duo's haste to get Relena between the thankfully clean sheets.

They were both laughing, barefoot and struggling to get each other's clothes off without breaking their kisses. Duo's shirt ended up on a lamp, buttons popped, and when Relena gave him the go-ahead, he literally tore the dress off of her. She squealed with giggles and let him pin her to the bed, enjoying his forcefulness.

"So tell me, Lena-baby," he mouthed her neck, "are we making love or fucking?"

She arched up against him, closing her eyes. "Mm... Surprise me."

Duo rolled up onto his knees, straddling her hips and offering a grin. It was gentle, sensual. It spoke volumes and Relena smiled back. He was beautiful, his pale skin flushed, nipples pierced with silver, arms wrapped in black and grey ink. Twin Celtic knots graced his collarbones at the point where chest met shoulder. There was more on his back, she knew—a massive back piece featuring Saint Michael the Archangel—and she wanted to trace them all with gentle fingers. His hair had started to come loose, framing his face like a halo.

Relena reached out, catching his belt and tugging him back down to kiss him slowly. "Are you pierced anywhere else?"

"Not yet," he purred, helping her with the buckle.

"No?" she teased, tracing her middle finger over his fly and making him groan.

He caught her hands, pinning them gently beside her head, and claimed another kiss. "You into that, Len? We oughta get you pierced next. Pretty pink diamonds, maybe."

"Our little secret," she agreed, lacing their fingers together.

"How scandalous." He laved his tongue down her throat to her collarbone, avoiding the edge of the wrap covering her tattoo. He tugged her bra down, dropping a kiss upon each nipple to emphasize his next words, "Just imagine your fussy little PR toadies and those sanctimonious nobles, oblivious to how the Vice Foreign Minister is hiding all kinds of pretty jewelry and tattoos beneath those conservative suits."

"Tattoos, plural? The one isn't enough?"

"I think it's a start. I saw you, Len. It's not going to be the last one, is it?"

Relena smiled, shaking her head. "No. I don't think so."

"I'll do them all," he promised. "When you're ready."

"I wouldn't let anyone else do it."

Duo gave her a pleased smile and, brushing the whole of his body against hers, slid down to crouch between her feet. Lifting one ankle to his shoulder, he rubbed his cheek against her calf, gently kissing his way up to her knee and higher.

He drew soft gasps from her with gentle touches, made her squirm with merely the warmth of his breath against her thighs. When she slid her hands into his hair, he paused to pull the tie from the end of his braid and shake the thick, wavy mass out until it spilled over his back and shoulders, over her legs. Startled, Relena fingercombed it away from his face, eyes questioning. She'd never seen it loose before, had always assumed that he didn't like it being touched.

"I love it," he kissed the inside of her wrist, "when my lovers play with my hair. I love when _anyone_ plays with my hair."

"You never told me," she marveled at the softness of it all.

"Should've asked," he teased. "Just so you know, I like having it pulled too."

"Oh. Oh..."

* * *

They never actually slept. There were fits of dozing between rounds of making love—three and a half in total, if they were counting—but they were both awake when morning came. They'd spent the last hour before sunrise with Relena studying the tattoos on Duo's arms and back in leisurely detail. There was a small pair of mismatched wings on his hip—one angel, one demon—that she hadn't known about. He didn't explain and she didn't ask. She remembered that Heero had a matching set on his left wrist. Duo tended to her tattoo, explaining the aftercare procedure more thoroughly than he had the night before, filling the silence that had fallen when Relena found the normally hidden wings.

As the thin morning light peeked through the windows, Duo finally turned his phone back on and reassured their friends and coworkers that they were still alive. Relena noticed that he deliberately avoided mentioning details of where they were or had been. It wouldn't do much good once she showed up in a borrowed black t-shirt over her ruined dress.

At least the tattoo was hidden.

They had breakfast on the steps in front of ESUN headquarters, old and grand, empty in the early weekend hours. It had been a palace once upon a time. Relena thought it more of a prison these days, especially after nights like the last one.

She could rip apart a dress, but the threads to the rest of her life were more tightly woven.

"Sleepy?" Duo asked, nudging her head on his shoulder. He had a cup of coffee gripped tightly between both hands.

Relena hummed, smiling. "A little."

"Regret it?" he murmured, resting his head against hers.

"Never."

"Me either."

"Do it again?" she asked.

"Which part?"

She didn't hesitate. Fuck being a princess. _"All of it."_

 

—END—


End file.
